Chase the Jester Across California Virtual Runs

BRONZE: The Pony Express Runner

Upon completion of the 220 miles, you will receive in the mail:
- One large Bronze Pony Express finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the Pony Express Trail.
- One Jester neck wrap/buff.

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Fun facts about the California Pony Express Trail

“WANTED – Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages - $25 per week.”
(Actual 1860 ad for Pony Express riders. 2020 equivalent - $777.45.)

The Pony Express is one of the most endearing and enduring memories of the 19th century Old West. The Pony Express Trail covered over 1,900 miles from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco, CA. Mail was delivered in under 10 days. The Pony Express mail delivery system only lasted 19 months. Two days after the first transmission was made on the Transcontinental Telegraph Line, October 24, 1861, the Pony Express was shuttered permanently.

Luckily, you don’t have to run the 1,900+ mile Pony Express Trail in under 10 days. The California segment of the PET is jest 220 miles, due East from the Pacific Ocean shoreline in San Francisco to the NV/CA shoreline of South Lake Tahoe.

Halfway along your 220-mile adventure, you'll pass through the Jester's birth city, Davis, and a little further down the road, the Jester's boyhood hometown, Placerville, aka "Old Hangtown". Although the Jester was born 100 years too late to be a Pony Express rider, he did get to do the next best thing for a teenage boy, run five marathons on and around the PET between the ages of 17 to 18.

Enjoy your virtual run. Don’t pick up any wooden nickels along the way!

SILVER: The Olympian

Upon completion of the 492 miles, you will receive in the mail:
- One large Silver Olympian finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the Olympic events.
- One Jester neck wrap/buff.

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The California Golden State is the only state that has hosted both Winter Olympics (1960 - Lake Tahoe) and Summer Olympics (1932, 1984, [2028] - Los Angeles).

Although the Summer Olympics in Japan has been postponed until 2021, you can still be an 'Olympian' this summer, right here in California. Simply run or walk the 492 miles from the Olympic Village in Squaw Valley Lake Tahoe - which is also the start line of the postponed Western States 100 (the world's first 100-mile trail race) - south on State Highway 395 to the Olympic Coliseum in Los Angeles.

At about the half-way point of your adventure, you'll pass through the mountain town of Lone Pine. To your right, it's 24 miles to the tip-top of Mt. Whitney. At 14,505 feet, Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous United States. And to your left, about 120 miles, is Badwater Basin. At 282 feet below sea level, Badwater is the lowest point in the Northern Hemisphere. Badwater Basin (Furnace Creek) also boasts the world's highest recorded temperature - 134.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

And if you jest so happen to be in Lone Pine on July 7-8, be sure to say "hi" to the Jester and 99 of his closest friends from around the world as they make the 5,000+ foot climb on Whitney Portal Road in the final 13 miles of the iconic Badwater 135 race. (As of 5/12, Badwater is still on schedule.)

GOLD: The Beach Runner

Upon completion of the 652 miles, you will receive in the mail:
- One large Gold Coastal finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the California Missions along the coast.
- One Jester neck wrap/buff.

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Run the Golden State Coastline from the U.S./Mexico border to the Golden Gate Bridge. Along the way, you'll pass all 21 California Missions, built by Spaniard priests and local Native American labor, decades before California's 1848 statehood. The Missions are the oldest man-made structures in California.

Long before the first Olympic Marathon was held in Athens, Greece in 1896, the Spanish Missions were built to be a day's journey apart - coincidentally, approximately 26 miles apart.

As you pass by each of the 21 missions, you'll pass by nearly as many beach city marathon courses, including San Diego Rock-n-Roll, Carlsbad, Orange County, Surf City, (Catalina Island), Long Beach, Palos Verdes, Los Angeles, Ventura, Surfers Point, Seaside, Camarillo, Big Sur, Surfers Path, San Francisco, and Golden Gate Headlands.

On the final leg of your ultra-marathon run, listen for the lingering echoes of the Korean drummers reverberating through the canyon walls at mile 10 on the Big Sur Marathon course. Three miles farther north you'll cross over one of the most picturesque marathon bridges in the world - Bixby Bridge. If you listen jest right, you might hear the iconic sounds of the tuxedo-clad pianist playing classical music on a baby grand piano.

Just north of Big Sur is Monterey Bay Academy on La Selva Beach. This is the Jester's high school alma mater - where he put in countless miles running on the beach, preparing for his first marathon, a mere 40-years ago.
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Upon completion of the 712 miles, you will receive in the mail:
- One large Bronze Pony Express finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the Pony
- One large Silver Olympian finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the Olympic events.
- One Jester neck wrap/buff.

Upon completion of the 872 miles, you will receive in the mail:
- One large Bronze Pony Express finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the Pony Express Trail.
- One large Gold Coastal finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the California Missions along the coast.
- One Jester neck wrap/buff.

Upon completion of the 1,144 miles, you will receive in the mail:
- One large Silver Olympian finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the Olympic events.
- One large Gold Coastal finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the California Missions along the coast.
- One Jester neck wrap/buff.

Upon completion of the 1,364 miles, you will receive in the mail:
- One large Bronze Pony Express finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the Pony Express Trail.
- One large Silver Olympian finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the Olympic events.
- One large Gold Coastal finisher's medal in the shape of California with the course outline on the map and images inspired by the California Missions along the coast.
- One large very special Jester Triple Crown medal exclusively available to those who complete all three.
- One Jester neck wrap/buff.